Diverter for a dishwasher and dishwasher comprising such diverter

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a diverter for a dishwasher comprising a tub, at least one rack placeable in the tub and aimed to accommodate dishes and kitchenware to be cleaned, and at least one rotating spray arm associated to the at least one rack for spraying a plurality of washing/rinsing liquid jets towards the rack. The diverter comprises a deflecting body having a deflecting surface designed to deviate a liquid jet that impinges on it, thus changing its path. The present invention also relates to a dishwasher comprising one or more diverters as above specified.

The present invention relates to a diverter for a dishwasher, inparticular a domestic dishwasher, aimed to deviate the path of awashing/rinsing liquid jet and a dishwasher comprising one or more ofsuch diverters. The present invention more particularly relates to adiverter and a dishwasher aimed to ensure an improved distribution ofthe washing/rinsing liquid inside the tub.

Domestic dishwashers generally comprise a tub, an upper pull-out rackand a lower pull-out rack arranged in the tub and aimed to support thedishes and kitchenware to be washed and an upper rotating spray arm anda lower rotating spray arm which are associated with the upper pull-outrack and the lower pull-out rack respectively.

The upper and the lower racks have generally a square or rectangularbase, in order to exploit at best the volume of the tub and toaccommodate as much dishes and kitchenware as possible. As aconsequence, only a central portion of the base of each of the racks isdirectly facing the correspondent spray arm during its rotation, asschematically illustrated in FIG. 1, so that the dishes and kitchenwareplaced on the corner zones of each rack are not reached by a direct jetof washing/rinsing liquid sprayed by the correspondent spray arm andthey cannot be cleaned in a satisfactory manner.

In order to solve the above mentioned problem, it is known in the stateof the art to provide the spray arms with extremity nozzles outwardlyoriented, aimed to spray washing liquid jets toward the corner zones ofthe racks during the rotation of the spray arm.

The main drawback of this technical solution resides on the fact that,during part of the rotation of the spray arm, the jets sprayed by suchnozzles hit the walls and the door of the dishwasher delimiting the tub,causing the formation of undesired noise and not serving for washing thedishes and kitchenware accommodated in the rack.

Another technical solution proposed to solve the above mentioned problemconsists in providing the dishwasher with fix nozzles, not movable withrespect to a correspondent rack, connected to the hydraulic conduitbringing the washing/rinsing liquid to the spray arm and specificallyaimed to spray washing liquid jets toward the corners of the racks.

A dishwasher, comprising such fix nozzles, is for instance described inthe patent application n. US 2009/159103A1.

The main drawback of such dishwasher resides on its constructionalcomplexity and, hence, on its higher production costs with respect tothe dishwasher simply provided with the rotating spray arms.

A further technical solution is described in the European patentapplication n. EP 2786691 A2 where a dishwasher is disclosed, whichcomprises a movable diverter, slidably mounted on guiding membersattached to the bottom of the tub, and dedicated fix nozzles aimed toemit washing liquid jets impinging the movable diverter to be deviatedtoward the rack. Also this dishwasher is however constructionallycomplex and it requires high production costs.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a diverter for adishwasher and a dishwasher which overcome the aforementioned drawbacksof the prior art in a cost effective way and which enables an improvedcleanliness also of the dishes and kitchenware placed on the cornerzones of the racks and hence improved cleaning performances of thedishwasher.

This objective has been achieved by the diverter as defined in claim 1,and by the dishwasher as defined in claim 6. Further achievements havebeen attained by the subject-matters respectively defined in thedependent claims.

The diverter for a dishwasher of the present invention comprises adeflecting body and a connection leg having a first end connected to thedeflecting body and a second end aimed to be connected to a rack of adishwasher, so that the deflecting body of the diverter can be hit by awashing/rinsing liquid jet emitted by the spray arm of the dishwasherand it can deflect such jet toward a selected zone of the tub.Therefore, according to the present invention, for each of the zonesinto the tub of the dishwasher that could be hardly reached by a directjet of washing/rinsing liquid emitted by the spray arm, one or morediverter can be provided, which are suitable to be attached to the rackand to be arranged conveniently for their deflecting body to redirect ajet emitted by the spray arm toward the selected zone of the tub.

In an embodiment the deflecting body of the diverter has an oblong shapewith a cross section having at least a curved side defining a deflectingsurface along the whole extension of the deflecting body, whichdeflecting surface is aimed to be hit by the liquid jet and to deviateit.

In a version of this embodiment, the deflecting body is slightly curvedalong its axis of preferred extension so as to better approximate thecircumference defined by the liquid jet sprayed by the spray arm duringits roattaion.

In an embodiment the deflecting surface is concave, while in analternative embodiment the deflecting surface is convex.

The dishwasher according to the invention comprises one or morediverters as above specified suitable to be attached to one of the racksof the dishwasher.

In an embodiment, the base and/or at least one of the walls of the rackof the dishwasher comprises at least a wire element and the diverter, ordiverters, is connected to the wire element, either on the base or onone or more of the walls or on both of them.

In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the diverters are connected tothe base of the rack extending toward the spray arm, so that they areeasily reached by the selected liquid jets emitted by the latter.

In particular, in a further embodiment, the rack has a quadrangular baseand the dishwasher comprises at least four diverters connected to therack, and preferably to its base, so that the deflecting surface of eachof them is hittable by a liquid jet emitted by the spray arm and itdeviates such liquid jet toward one of the four corner zones of therack.

In an embodiment, the diverters are connected to the base of the rackand arranged so that the deflecting surface of each of them is hittableby one or more liquid jet emitted by the spray arm substantiallyperpendicular to the base of the rack and it deviates such liquid jet ofan angle α comprised between 100° and 150°.

In an embodiment, the diverter, or the diverters, is fixed to the rack.

In an alternative embodiment, the diverter, or the diverters, isremovably connectable to the rack.

In a version of this embodiment, the second end of the connection leg ofthe diverter comprises attaching means for removably connecting thediverter to the wire element of the rack and the wire element and theattaching means are provided with anti-rotation elements aimed tocooperate in order to prevent the rotation of the diverter with respectto the wire element.

In a further version of the above mentioned embodiment, the rackcomprises marking means for indicating the position on the rack wherethe diverter, or the diverters, has to be attached to the rack.

In an embodiment, the dishwasher comprises a detergent box arranged inthe tub and one or more diverters connected to the rack so that thedeflecting surface of each of them is hittable by a liquid jet emittedby the spray arm and it deviates such liquid jet toward the detergentbox.

Additional advantages of the diverter and of the dishwasher of thepresent invention will become apparent with the detailed description ofthe embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1—is a plan view of a rack of a dishwasher and of a spray armassociated to this rack with superposed the circumference drawn by theend nozzles of the spray arm upon rotation of the spray arm.

FIG. 2—is a plan view of a rack of a dishwasher with four divertersaccording to the present invention attached to it and of a spray armassociated to this rack.

FIG. 3—is a side view of the rack of FIG. 2, with the diverters attachedto it and the spray arm associated to it.

FIG. 4—is an enlarged perspective view of a particular of the rack ofFIG. 2, with a diverter attached to it, and of a portion of the sprayarm associated to it.

FIG. 5—is a perspective view of a diverter according to the inventionattached to a portion of a rack.

FIG. 6—is a different perspective view of a diverter according to theinvention attached to a portion of a rack.

FIG. 7—is an enlarged view of a detail of the diverter attached to aportion of a rack of FIG. 6.

The reference signs appearing on the drawings relate to the followingtechnical features.

1. Diverter

2. Rack

3. Spray arm

4. Deflecting body

5. Deflecting surface

6. Connection leg

7. First end

8. Second end

9. Corner zone

10. Nozzle

11. Base

12. Walls

13. Wire element

14. Attaching means

15. Anti-rotation elements

16. Marking means

The diverter 1 is suitable for use in a dishwasher comprising a tub (notillustrated), one or more racks 2 placeable in the tub and aimed toaccommodate dishes and kitchenware to be cleaned, and one or morerotating spray arm 3 each associated to a rack 2 for spraying aplurality of washing/rinsing liquid jets J (one of which isschematically indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4) towards the rack 2.

The diverter 1 comprises a deflecting body 4 having a deflecting surface5 designed to deflect a liquid jet that impinges on it, thus changingits path. Advantageously the deflecting surface 5 can be a curvedsurface as illustrated in the attached figures.

According to the invention, the diverter 1 further comprises aconnection leg 6 having a first end 7 connected, and in particularpreferably fixed, to the deflecting body 4 and a second end 8 aimed tobe connected to a rack 2 of the dishwasher. According to the embodimentillustrated in the attached FIGS. 3-7, the diverter 1 comprises only oneconnection leg 6, but it could comprise two or more connection legs 6without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The diverter 1 according to the invention is suitable to be connected toa rack 2 of a dishwasher in order to be hit by a washing/rinsing liquidjet J emitted by the spray arm 3 of the dishwasher and to deflect suchjet J toward a selected zone of the tub, that otherwise would not bedirectly impinged by one of the liquid jets emitted by the spray arm 3.

Therefore the diverter 1, when used in a dishwasher, allows to directpart of the washing/rinsing liquid sprayed by the spray arm 3 toward acritical zone of the tub, such as for instance one of the corner zones 9of a quadrangular rack 2 that do not face directly the spray arm 3during its rotation as illustrated in FIG. 1, without however entailingthe deflection of one or more of the liquid jets J emitted by the sprayarm 3 for the whole rotation of the spray arm 3.

More in detail, in one embodiment illustrated in the attached figures,the diverter 1 is aimed to be connected to a rack 2 of a dishwashercomprising a spray arm 3 having a plurality of nozzles 10 for deviatingthe liquid jet J emitted by one or more selected nozzles 10 of the sprayarm 3 when, upon rotation of the spray arm 3, the liquid jet J emittedby this nozzle impinges the diverter 1. In the embodiment illustrated inthe attached FIGS. 2-4, in particular, each of the diverter 1 connectedto the rack 2 is aimed to be hit by the liquid jet J emitted by each ofthe end nozzles 10 of the spray arm 3 to deflect it outwardly toward thecorner zones 9 of the rack 2.

The use of one or more diverters 1 according to the invention in adishwasher allows therefore to efficiently exploit the washing/rinsingliquid emitted by the spray arm 3 without wasting it for part of therotation of the arm 3 and at the same time it allows to ensure anefficient cleaning of the dishes and tableware placed in critical zonesof the rack 2 such as the corner zones 9. Moreover, due to the fact thatthe liquid jets J emitted by the spray arm 3 are directed toward therack 2 for the whole rotation of the spray arm 3, and simply deviated bythe diverters 1 just in correspondence of the latters, the formation ofunpleasant noise during the functioning of the dishwasher due to theliquid jets hitting the wall and the door of the dishwasher is avoided.

According to an embodiment, the deflecting body 4 has an oblong shape,extending substantially parallel to an axis X, with a cross sectionhaving at least a curved side defining the deflecting surface 5 alongthe whole extension of the deflecting body 4.

The diverter 1 is in particular aimed to be connected to the rack 2arranged such that its axis X of preferred extension is tangential tothe circumference drawn by the liquid jet J emitted by the selectednozzle or nozzles 10 of the spray arm 3.

In a further embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the deflectingbody 4 has a slightly curved shaped, being curved along the axis X inorder to better fits the circumference drawn by the liquid jet J emittedby the preselected nozzle or nozzles 10 of the spray arm 3 associated tothe rack 2 to which the diverter 1 is aimed to be connected.

In an embodiment, the deflecting surface 5 of the deflecting body 4 isconcave, as for instance illustrated in the attached figures.

In a different embodiment, the deflecting surface 5 of the deflectingbody 4 is convex.

It is an object of the present invention also a dishwasher (notillustrated) comprising, as above specified, a tub, one or more racks 2placeable in the tub, each of which racks 2 having a base 11 and walls12 extending substantially perpendicular from the base 11, and aimed toaccommodate dishes and kitchenware to be cleaned, and one or morerotating spray arm 3 each associated to a rack 2 for spraying awashing/rinsing liquid towards the rack 2, and comprising one or morediverters 1 as above described.

According to an embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the base11 and/or at least one of the walls 12 of the rack 2 comprises one ormore wire elements 13 and the diverter or the diverters 1 are connectedto one or more of such wire elements 13.

More in detail, in a further embodiment the rack 2 comprises severalwire elements 13 welded together and advantageously covered with arubber or plastic coating which define together the base 11 and thewalls 12 of the rack 2 and each of the diverters 1 is connected to oneor more selected wire elements 13 either of the base 11 or of the walls12. Each of the diverters 1 can in fact in this case be easily attachedto the rack 2.

In a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached FIGS. 2-4, thediverter 1 (or the diverters 1) is connected to the base 11 of the rack2, in particular projecting downwardly toward the exterior of the rack2, i.e. toward the spray arm 3. The diverter 1 such attached to the rack2, in fact, does not hinder the arrangement of the dishes and tablewareon the rack 2 and it is directly reached by the liquid jets J of theselected nozzles 10, so that such jets J can be redirected by thediverter 1 in the preselected zone of the tub.

According to an embodiment, the rack 2 bearing attached the diverters 1has a quadrangular base 11 and the dishwasher comprises four or morediverters 1 connected to the rack 2 such that the deflecting surface 5of each of them is hittable by a liquid jet J emitted by the spray arm 3and it is arranged to deviate such liquid jet J toward one of the fourcorner zones 9 of the rack 2, as illustrated in FIG. 2. More in detail,the four or more diverters 1 are connected to the rack 2 incorrespondence of the circumference drawn by the liquid jets J to bedeflected emitted by the selected nozzles 10 of the spray arm 3, such asfor instance the end nozzles 10.

In a version of this embodiment, each of the diverters 1 is connected tothe base 11 of the rack 2, in particular projecting downwardly of thebase 11 toward the spray arm 3, and arranged so that its deflectingsurface 5 is hittable by a liquid jet J emitted by the spray arm 3substantially perpendicular to the base 11 of the rack 2 in order todeviate such liquid jet J of an angle α comprised between 100° and 150°,as illustrated in FIG. 4. This allows to redirect the selected liquidjets J toward the dishes and tableware accommodated on the corner zones9 of the rack 2.

In an embodiment, the diverter (or diverters) 1 is fixed to the rack 2.For instance each of the diverters 1 can be welded to the rack 2 and inparticular to one of the wire element 13 of the rack 2.

In an alternative embodiment, the diverter (or diverters) 1 is removablyconnectable to the rack 2. In this case the user can remove thediverters 1 whenever desired.

According to a version of this last embodiment, the second end 8 of theconnection leg 6 of the diverter 1 comprises attaching means 14 forconnecting the diverter 1 to the rack 2.

In particular, when the base 11 and/or at least one of the walls 12 ofthe rack 2 comprises one or more wire elements 13, the second end 8 ofthe connection leg 6 of the diverter 1 comprises attaching means 14 forconnecting the diverter 1 to the wire element 13 and the wire element 13and the attaching means 14 are provided with anti-rotation elements 15aimed to cooperate in order to prevent the rotation of the diverter 1with respect to the wire element 13. The attaching means 14 can bedefined for instance by semi-flexible arms which can be elasticallydeformed to enclose a portion of the wire element 13, snapping intoplace on it, as illustrated in the attached FIGS. 4-7. The anti-rotationelements 15 can be defined for instance by the shape of the crosssection of the wire element 13 and of the attaching means 14.Differently, the anti-rotation elements 15 can be defined for instanceby indentations and protrusions provided on the attaching means 14 andon the portion of the wire element 13 aimed to receive the attachingmeans 14, as illustrated for instance in FIGS. 6 and 7, whichindentations and protrusions are mutually engaged thus hindering therotation of the diverter 1 with respect to the wire element 13. Thisensures that the diverter 1 remains in the correct position andmaintains its correct orientation also when it is hit by a pressurizedliquid jet J, thus continuing to redirect such liquid jet J toward thedesired zone of the tub.

According to a further embodiment, the rack 2 comprises marking means 16for indicating the position on the rack 2 where the diverter or thediverters 1 has to be attached to the rack 2. The marking means 16 canbe defined by the same anti-rotation elements 15. The marking means 16can be also differently defined, as for instance by a portion of thewire element 13 or of the rack 2 of a different color with respect tothe remaining part of the wire element 13 or of the rack 2. This allowsthe user to easily understand where exactly on the rack 2 the diverteror diverters 1 should be attached.

In another embodiment, the dishwasher comprises a detergent box arrangedin the tub, like for instance attached to one of the internal walls ofthe dishwasher delimiting the tub or attached to the door that closesthe opening to the tub through which the user can remove and reinsertthe racks 2 from/into the tub, for removing the cleaned dishes andtableware or to place the dirty ones on the racks 2. According to thisembodiment, the dishwasher further comprises one or more diverters 1,and preferably one diverter 1, connected to the rack 2 so that itsdeflecting surface 5 is hittable by a liquid jet J emitted by the sprayarm 3, and in particular by the selected nozzle/nozzles 10 of the sprayarm 3, for deviating it toward the detergent box. This allows toproperly extract all the detergent introduced by the user in thedetergent box and to rinse the detergent box after the removal of thedetergent from it, thus ensuring that all the detergent provided by theuser is actually mixed with the water circulating through the tub andavoiding that residual detergent could remain in the box.

With the present invention, the dishwasher has been enabled to properlyclean all the dishes and tableware placed on its racks 2, also on thezones of the racks that are not directly facing the spray arm during itsrotation, in a simple and cost effective manner, while allowing anefficient exploitation of the washing/rinsing liquid distributed by thespray arm 3.

1. A diverter for a dishwasher comprising a tub, at least one rackplaceable in the tub and aimed to accommodate dishes and kitchenware tobe cleaned, and at least one rotating spray arm associated to the atleast one rack for spraying a plurality of washing/rinsing liquid jetstowards the rack, the diverter comprising a deflecting body having adeflecting surface designed to deviate a liquid jet that impinges on it,thus changing its path, characterized in that the diverter furthercomprises a connection leg having a first end connected to thedeflecting body and a second end aimed to be connected to a rack of thedishwasher; the diverter being suitable to be connected to a rack of thedishwasher in order to be hit by a washing/rinsing liquid jet emitted bythe spray arm of the dishwasher and to deflect such jet toward aselected zone of the tub.
 2. The diverter according to claim 1,characterized in that the deflecting body has an oblong shape, extendingsubstantially parallel to an axis X, with a cross section having atleast a curved side defining the deflecting surface along the wholeextension of the deflecting body.
 3. The diverter according to claim 2,characterized in that the deflecting body is curved along the axis X. 4.The diverter according to claim 1, characterized in that the deflectingsurface is concave.
 5. The diverter according to claim 1, characterizedin that the deflecting surface is convex.
 6. A dishwasher comprising atub, at least one rack placeable in the tub, having a base and wallsextending substantially perpendicular from the base, and aimed toaccommodate dishes and kitchenware to be cleaned, and at least onerotating spray arm associated to the at least one rack for spraying awashing/rinsing liquid towards the rack, characterized in that itfurther comprises at least one diverter according to claim
 1. 7. Thedishwasher according to claim 6, characterized in that the base and/orat least one of the walls of the rack comprises at least a wire elementand the at least one diverter is connected to the at least a wireelement.
 8. The dishwasher according to claim 6, characterized in thatthe at least one diverter is connected to the base of the rack.
 9. Thedishwasher according to claim 6, characterized in that the at least onerack has a quadrangular base and the dishwasher comprises at least fourdiverters connected to the rack so that the deflecting surface of eachof them is hittable by a liquid jet emitted by the spray arm fordeviating it toward one of the four corner zones of the rack.
 10. Thedishwasher according to claim 8, characterized in that each of thediverters is connected to the base of the rack and arranged so that itsdeflecting surface is hittable by a liquid jet emitted by the spray armsubstantially perpendicular to the base of the rack in order to deviatesuch liquid jet of an angle α comprised between 100° and 150°.
 11. Thedishwasher according to claim 6, characterized in that the at least onediverter is fixed to the rack.
 12. The dishwasher according to claim 6,characterized in that the at least one diverter is removably connectableto the rack.
 13. The diverter according to claim 7, characterized inthat the second end of the connection leg of the diverter comprisesattaching means for removably connecting the diverter to the wireelement of the rack and the wire element and the attaching means areprovided with anti-rotation elements aimed to cooperate in order toprevent the rotation of the diverter with respect to the wire element.14. The dishwasher according to claim 12, characterized in that the rackcomprises marking means for indicating the position on the rack wherethe at least one diverter has to be attached to the rack.
 15. Thedishwasher according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises adetergent box arranged in the tub and at least one diverter connected tothe rack so that its deflecting surface is hittable by a liquid jetemitted by the spray arm for deviating it toward the detergent box.